RocCity Brewfest Review Part 2

by Daniel on February 26, 2012

rating the beers with the "33 Beers" journal

There were lots of beers at the RocCity Brewfest. To check the full list out, go here. I thought rather than going through all of the 35 beers I sampled, I’d talk about the highlights. Below are a quick list of my favorites of the night, in no particular order, followed by more in-depth reviews for the best. I will transparently confess to you that I’m not much a fan of IPAs due to their often overpowering bitterness. Knowing this, I tried to still judge them fairly and to appreciate them as a style, and pick out the best of them. Fortunately, others I spoke to at the festival seemed to agree with these judgements. The beers were judged on the 5 star scale from the 33 Bottles of Beer journal (keep an eye out for an upcoming post). Perhaps I was a little tough on my star ratings as nothing made it above 4 stars, so just look at these relatively.

4 Stars:

Sierra Nevada – Ruthless Rye IPA

Custom Brewcrafter’s – Double Dark Cream Porter

Bear Republic – Racer 5 IPA

Lagunitas – IPA

Troegs – Dreamweaver Wheat

Nectar Ales – Humbolt Red

Rogue – Chocolate Stout

3.5 Stars

Middle Ages Brewing – Raspberry Ale

Lake Placid Brewery – Winter Lager

Dogfish Head – Chicory Stout

Smuttynose – Brown Dog Ale

Warsteiner – Oktoberfest

Warsteiner – Dunkel

Breckenridge Brewery – Agave Wheat

St. Benedict’s – Winter Ale

Wachusett Brewing Co. – Blueberry Ale

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA – 6.6% ABV – Very nice flowery/hoppy aroma, strong vanilla head. Color is golden with a hint of brown color. Not overly bitter at the start, with notes of citrus & pepper, rye dryness lingers on the finish. An IPA that stood out with its unique flavors compared to many of the IPAs I tasted at the festival. I went for a second.

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA – 7% ABV – Strong fresh hop aroma, golden color. Very smooth feeling IPA compared to most. Less bitterness due to heavier body balanced with a wheaty & malty flavor. Aftertaste not too bitter. As one who doesn’t always like IPAs, this was a pleasure.

Lagunitas IPA – 6.2% ABV – Hoppy aroma, good head. Flowery flavor with citrus & a bite of spice, crisp and refreshing and not too bitter, again well balanced with some body. Best of the regular IPAs at the event.

Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat – 4.8% ABV – Flower & wheat aroma, yellow color, not much head. Strong citrus notes with clover, backed up by wheat undertones giving it a sweet finish. I would have had more if I hadn’t been trying to get through 35 different beers.

Nectar Ales Humbolt Red – 5.4% ABV – Floral aroma, amber color. Surprising complexity for this type of beer. Malty & toffee flavors with a little citrus and spice. Lightly bitter, and a great lingering aftertaste much like that of the initial flavor of the beer. Definitely stood out as one of the best of the night.

Rogue Chocolate Stout – ABV not listed – Black color with a nice brown/caramel colored head. Smells of chocolate, nuts, and malt. Smokey, chocolate & caramel flavor that is malty sweet but balanced well with the burnt bitterness. I wasn’t surprised with the pleasantness & quiet complexity of this beer from Rogue.